When Virginia's Joe Harris gets to Madison Square Garden this week, it won't be the first time he's visited the famous arena. During a summer tour, Harris had a hopeful future challenge presented to him by a friend.

With hard hats in place last summer, Harris and a buddy who calls Long Island home got to look around inside Madison Square Garden while the arena was undergoing a $1 billion renovation. Though the dusty arena looked nothing like it will appear Friday night when No. 1 seed U.Va. plays No. 4 seed Michigan State (28-8) in the NCAA tournament East Region semifinals, Harris could feel the history in the room.

"It's still really cool to see, just because you grow up and you watch all the great players that play in there," said Harris, who led U.Va. with 16 points Sunday in its 78-60 win against No. 8 seed Memphis in the third round of the tournament. "It's the Mecca of arenas. It's the world's most famous arena. It's exciting that the NCAA is even there, and the fact that we get to play there is going to be an unbelievable opportunity."

Harris' friend told him he and his family had purchased tickets in advance when they heard the NCAA tournament was going to be returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time since 1961. As bona fide college basketball junkies, they weren't going to miss the chance to see the tournament in such a famed setting.

"He was just messing around about how, 'You guys better be there,'" Harris said. "This was back in the summer. Now that it's actually happened, it's pretty cool."

U.Va. is finally getting its long-awaited trip to Madison Square Garden after coming up one win short of reaching the venue in both last season's National Invitation Tournament season tip-off and NIT postseason tournament.

Michigan State is going back to Madison Square Garden after losing there 64-60 on Feb. 1 to unranked Georgetown. Michigan State was ranked No. 7 at the time.

Just getting to Madison Square Garden likely won't be satisfying enough for U.Va. (30-6), but advancing to Sunday's regional final against the winner of Friday's other semifinal between No. 7 seed Connecticut and No. 3 seed Iowa State figures to be a chore.

Despite being a No. 4 seed, Michigan State was a trendy pick to win the championship before the tournament by college basketball analysts and average bracket-fillers. U.Va.'s players haven't lost much sleep over the naysayers.

"I kind of feel like we've been the underdogs all season," said forward Anthony Gill, who added the closest he's ever been to the skyscrapers of Manhattan was an airport terminal. "It's nothing new to us."

While U.Va. enters the regional semifinals as arguably the hottest team in the nation, having won 18 of its last 19 games, Michigan State also has been sharp since the start of the postseason, winning five straight after going 5-7 in its last 12 regular-season games.

Michigan State, which features guard Gary Harris' 16.9 points per game and 6-foot-10 forward Adreian Payne's 16.6 points per game and 43.8 percent 3-point shooting, reached the regional semifinal Sunday by beating No. 12 seed Harvard 80-73 in the third round.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who utilizes a four-guard lineup this season along with Payne, won the 2000 national title at Michigan State and has led the Spartans to five Final Fours.

U.Va. coach Tony Bennett has some experience of his own playing against Michigan State, losing 60-58 in the first round of the 1991 NCAA tournament when he was a junior guard for No. 12 seed Green Bay, which was coached at the time by Bennett's father, Dick. Steve Smith made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to thwart Green Bay's upset bid against No. 5 seed Michigan State.

Izzo was an assistant to Michigan State coach Jud Heathcoate on the '91 team. Now, almost a quarter-century later, Izzo and Tony Bennett will cross paths again in one of the most recognizable arenas on the planet.

"Probably the best team we'll have played this year," Bennett said.

"Now that they're fully healthy, and how they've played in the conference tournament and watching them in the NCAA tournament with the different pieces they have with their depth and explosiveness — coach Izzo, one of the things he's always prided his program on is they don't take possessions off. That's who they are."